Forward movement

The debate over the long-awaited Police Citizen
Review Commission gets another airing next week, when the case is presented
before Illinois Labor Relations Board hearing officer William E. Waechter.

The hearing, scheduled to last two days, begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday, July 12.

The city of Springfield and Policemen’s
Benevolent and Protective Agency Unit 5 — the union representing most
of the Springfield Police Department’s patrol officers — will
each call witnesses and present evidence. Later, both parties will receive
a transcript of the hearing, which they can use to craft position
statements. Waechter will review the statements before rendering his
ruling.

But Michael Provines, the ILRB investigator assigned
to the case, doesn’t expect the process to end there.

“Personally, I would expect that no matter how
the hearing officer decides, an appeal would occur. But I could be
wrong,” he says.

An appeal would trigger a hearing before the full
ILRB, whose decision could then go to the appellate court.

“If the parties are really strong about their
positions, it could take awhile,” Provines says.

But Ward 2 Ald. Frank McNeil, who first proposed a
citizen review board more than a decade ago, says he sees no point in
waiting any longer.

“It’s unfortunate that a department as
troubled as SPD has been is like, ‘We don’t want anybody to
know what our dirty secrets are,’ ” McNeil says. “The
police union is determined not to let this happen. And now I’m
determined that the mayor’s got to appoint the people and let them
start working, because this is dilatory in my opinion, to take the process
to its fullest extent and make sure it doesn’t get
implemented.”

PBPA president Bob Markovic could not be reached for
comment.

The City Council passed an ordinance in February
establishing the PCRC. The PBPA responded by immediately filing a complaint
with the labor board, claiming the matter should have been a topic of
bargaining.

The hearing will be held at 320 W. Washington St.,
Suite 500, and is open to the public.